Can mankind live together peacefully without the aid of law and order? In his book Lord of the Flies, William Golding directly addresses this problem by illustrating a story of a group of boys that become stranded on an uninhabited island in the middle of nowhere. But, if you look deep into the story, you will find the true meaning, an allegory that represents how the whole world works. In this suspenseful rollercoaster of a book, Golding shows the battle between good and evil, and expresses the idea that good may not always prevail over evil.
In this book, Piggy, a smart but disrespected boy, represents science and reason. Piggy always has the right idea, but no one listens to him because he’s a fat guy with thick glasses. Piggy is always looking for a logical explanation for things, or simply something to make him feel civilized. So, he is always close to the conch, which represents law. When things start spiraling out of control, piggy tries to make everyone sane again saying, “Which is better, to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”(pg.33) So it is not surprising that Piggy is then killed with the conch in his hand, while the conch shatters into oblivion. Piggy’s glasses play a huge role in this story, because the boys use them as reflectors to make fires, so with these “specs” comes great power. But because no one listens to or respects Piggy, he needs a friend like Ralph, a well respected boy whim the rest look up to.
Much like the way Piggy needs Ralph, Ralph needs Piggy. Although everyone listens to Ralph’s ideas, he might not have any ideas for them to listen to id it weren’t for Piggy. Ralph, who represents the good in this book, always wants to have established rules and order. In the beginning of the book, he is voted chief and everyone respects him, but, as time goes on, things start to go downhill quickly, and most of the boys end u half naked, face painted savages. But Ralph wants to think about this logically and have a signal fire in hope of being rescued, and an organized system to get food. “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!”(pg.70) Although Ralph is trying to maintain order and keep the boys civilized, he is faced with a conflict, an enemy. The boy who represents corruption and, somewhat, evil, Jack.
In this story, jack is a character who needs rules and an authority figure, or else he just becomes a savage. He just wants to have fun on the island… and hunt… and kill. Eventually, jack develops a blood lust which isn’t good for those who oppose him. Jack seems to be totally overwhelmed with the power of the lord of the flies, a severed pig’s head on a stick that represents the dark side of man (the devil) “You should have seen the blood!” (pg.70) Jack becomes drunk with power, and will do whatever he needs to, even kill people, to gain more.
In conclusion, I think that William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, definitely proves that mankind needs some kind of law and order to live as peacefully as possible. If you read this book and all you get from it is that it was some book about a group of boys on an island that kill each other, you would be missing the point. This book represents the constant battles between good and evil that we see in the world every day.
Jack with the other "savages"
In this book, Piggy, a smart but disrespected boy, represents science and reason. Piggy always has the right idea, but no one listens to him because he’s a fat guy with thick glasses. Piggy is always looking for a logical explanation for things, or simply something to make him feel civilized. So, he is always close to the conch, which represents law. When things start spiraling out of control, piggy tries to make everyone sane again saying, “Which is better, to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”(pg.33) So it is not surprising that Piggy is then killed with the conch in his hand, while the conch shatters into oblivion. Piggy’s glasses play a huge role in this story, because the boys use them as reflectors to make fires, so with these “specs” comes great power. But because no one listens to or respects Piggy, he needs a friend like Ralph, a well respected boy whim the rest look up to.
Much like the way Piggy needs Ralph, Ralph needs Piggy. Although everyone listens to Ralph’s ideas, he might not have any ideas for them to listen to id it weren’t for Piggy. Ralph, who represents the good in this book, always wants to have established rules and order. In the beginning of the book, he is voted chief and everyone respects him, but, as time goes on, things start to go downhill quickly, and most of the boys end u half naked, face painted savages. But Ralph wants to think about this logically and have a signal fire in hope of being rescued, and an organized system to get food. “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!”(pg.70) Although Ralph is trying to maintain order and keep the boys civilized, he is faced with a conflict, an enemy. The boy who represents corruption and, somewhat, evil, Jack.
In this story, jack is a character who needs rules and an authority figure, or else he just becomes a savage. He just wants to have fun on the island… and hunt… and kill. Eventually, jack develops a blood lust which isn’t good for those who oppose him. Jack seems to be totally overwhelmed with the power of the lord of the flies, a severed pig’s head on a stick that represents the dark side of man (the devil) “You should have seen the blood!” (pg.70) Jack becomes drunk with power, and will do whatever he needs to, even kill people, to gain more.
In conclusion, I think that William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, definitely proves that mankind needs some kind of law and order to live as peacefully as possible. If you read this book and all you get from it is that it was some book about a group of boys on an island that kill each other, you would be missing the point. This book represents the constant battles between good and evil that we see in the world every day.
Jack with the other "savages"